Taron Egerton was awarded the Rave and Golden Globe Awards for leading a pop god in Elton John’s biography “Rocket Man”, depicting a shy piano genius blossoming into an international superstar. ..
But in his latest role, as a drug dealer convicted of the new Apple TV + drama “Blackbird,” he has quirky sunglasses and feather collars that he throws away when shooting on rap every day. I didn’t. In the true story-based “Blackbird,” he had to throw away the darker ones. It’s a confession of a man’s Larry Hall. Convicted in connection with the death of a girl There was a suspicion that more people were kidnapped, raped and killed.
“There were days when I felt like I was home as much as it was a creative and wonderful experience. I don’t want to hear anything like this anymore,” the character’s work brings out those confessions. That’s what Egerton said recently. Video call from his London kitchen.
The 32-year-old Egerton, who lent a soulful tenor voice to both flashy (John) and furry (Mountain Gorilla Johnny in the animated musical “Sing”), was almost after “Rocket Man”. You may have chosen all musical roles. And with their deeply carved beauty and sharp green eyes, it seems to be begging for capes and spandex.
Instead, he wanted his next major on-camera role to show the world that he was more than a singing and dancing man.
“I wanted to do something really different from’Rocketman’,” he said. “People tend to think of you as the last thing you did. They don’t want to take that risk in giving actors a role they’ve never seen running an earlier version.”
He is a six-episode miniseries written by author and screenwriter Dennis Lehane (“Mystic River”) from the prison memoir “In With The Devil” written by James Keane and Hillel. I found it in the psychological thriller “Black Bird”. Levin.
The series, which debuts on July 8th, is centered around Egerton as Jimmy Keane. Jimmy Keane is offered the opportunity to commute to work with a 10-year imprisonment on one condition.Of at least one missing girl, and perhaps a dozen or more girls
“A part like Jimmy, or really like Elton, is definitely a role I’m looking for in my career,” Egerton said. “That doesn’t mean that everything I want to do needs to be heavy and dark — I’m definitely attracted to something like that — but it’s because you want to bring your absolute best. , Writing such a book really really really creatively nourishes. “
EGERTON wasn’t always that enthusiastic About acting. He was born into a working class family in England and had his father who ran a bed and breakfast in Liverpool and his mother who worked in social welfare. They divorced when he was two years old and he moved to Wales with his mother.
When he was 12, he moved to another location in Wales, Aberystwyth. “When I moved, he lost all his childhood friends,” he said. “I was pretty cheeky and confident, but to hide the anxiety I was feeling.” He didn’t act until he was fifteen. “It was as sociable and trying to make friends as I was interested in acting,” he said.
Acting is stuck. After graduating from the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in 2012, he starred in the stage production of “The Last of the Haussmans” at the National Theater of London, and the British television dramas “Lewis” and “Smoke.”
Then came his big break. Director Matthew Vaughn (“Kick Ass”, “X-Men: First Class”) is the 2014 British action comedy film “Kingsman: The Secret Service.” Egerton has never appeared on a movie set. Nevertheless, that role made him a co-leader alongside Colin Firth.
“He came in and auditioned perfectly,” Bourne said on the phone. “He was Eggie. I liked his role because Eggie was also involved in growing up in a world you’ve never been to.”
Following the success of the first “Kingsman” movie, which earned more than $ 414 million worldwide, he continued with “Eddie the Eagle,” Disney’s animated film “Sing,” and the sequel “Kingsman: The Golden Circle.” Appeared in. “
He then applied a rough patch, first in the title role of Ottoberthast’s 2018 “Robin Hood” adaptation, and then as an enemy to the 2018 biographical crime drama “Billionaire Boys Club.” Both were critically ramped box office revenues.
“I was offered a fair amount of money to do them, so I ignored my instincts for those two jobs,” he said. “And it’s deadly. You can’t choose a role that way.”
“But I feel I should be kind to myself,” he continued. “I’m a 25-year-old kid and was raised by a single mother with little money. I wanted to make money not only for me, but for those who are important to me. And these two movies Looking back, as much as I wasn’t happy with the results, I can see very clearly why I made them. “
Things turned around with “Rocketman”, he learned to play the piano and sang many of his numbers live.
“He has an incredible singing voice,” said Dexter Fletcher, who directed “Rocketman.” “But he was also an actor who went to places where he wasn’t afraid to make a fool of himself. He was crazy about being this super cool, emotionless, good-looking guy. did not.”
Bourne, the producer of “Rocketman,” said he believed that this role helped Egerton prove that he “can play literally any role.”
“He’s in a rare, unusual club,” Bourne added. “Hugh Jackman is the only other man who is purely an action star and a musical star.”
It was the diversity that caught the eye when Rehane, who developed, wrote and produced “Blackbird”, was looking for a top-notch man.
“I just saw’Rocketman’,” he said.
Egerton needed more than range to shoot the “Blackbird”. The series was also incredibly heavy. Lehane cried when he created the scene in Episode 5 — he said he experienced it for the first time while writing a script. Hauser said his life began to get out of control because he was so influenced by his role as a hall. Eventually he had to calm down.
“The rally hall is 12 hours a day, so I want to go home and eat junk food, drink and eat,” he said on a recent phone call. “It was as if I lived in a haunted house.”
However, Egerton, whose character acts as a soundboard for Hall’s disturbing revelations, managed to stay on top of it despite six months of rigorous filming in New Orleans, Hauser and Rehane said. Said.
“It’s difficult,” said Egerton, who was bulky to play Keane, a former high school football star. “It can be difficult to turn off, especially on long days or nights, but you find a way.”
Egerton, who also earned credit for the first Executive Producer in “Blackbird,” resulted in a scene with Ray Liotta (“Goodfellas”, “Field of Dreams”), who played Keane’s father in particular. He said he was very proud. Riotta died in May and its role seems to be Riotta’s last television show.
“I loved the relationship,” Egerton said of him and the Riotta character. “These two are complex, very, very flawed, imperfect men, but they have this true love for each other.”
“He had such an edge and such toughness to him,” he added about Riotta.
3 years since the release of “Rocketman” Egerton did a lot of voice work and returned to the stage. In March, he made his West End debut with the resurrection of the Mike Bartlett comedy “Cook” on the other side of “Bridgerton” star Jonathan Bailey.
However, on the opening night, he collapsed on stage on his first performance, and after a successful but short return, he tested positive for Covid-19. Eventually, He left productionWhat to quote The producer at that time said It was a “personal reason”.
“Towards the end of last year, a close relative was diagnosed with cancer and I dropped out of the movie and went home and was with him,” he explained. “In the play, I thought I was ready to get back to work, but it wasn’t. I had to leave, and it was sad, and absolutely I have to. It’s one of the most difficult decisions I didn’t make. “
Things seem to be on track, and looking to the future, he has no shortage of acting jobs. He will return to the “Kingsman” franchise, starring as the founder of the Tetris Company, Henk Rogers, in the upcoming Apple TV + movie “Tetris” later this year.
He also wanted to take over Jackman as the next Wolverine and met with Marvel Studios executives, including the company’s president Kevin Feige.
“I don’t think it’s wrong to say that,” he said with a laugh. “I’m excited, but I’m also worried. Hugh is so relevant to that role that I think it’s very difficult for someone else to do it.”
He paused and grinned. “But hopefully they will give me a shot if that happens.”